The week before Thanksgiving I was booked to photograph Scott & Stef’s first child, Elliana. She was born back in October and she was lovely to photograph.
Like most shoots, I approach them with a goal to gain a certain amount of different shots and poses. For this shoot, I had a set of images in my head I wanted to capture. That helps me plan out my shoots and also lets them be more efficient with as little dawdling as possible. I don’t want to waste my time nor my client’s time.
I know a lot of photographers prefer to photograph babies and newborns in natural light, but I almost always prefer the look of off camera flash for my portrait work. I feel that I can control the light much more, which gives me more confidence in my abilities as a photographer.
Even though she got to eat before the shoot, Elliana was wide awake and full of energy throughout the shoot. In between shots, I had Mom on pacifier duty, helping to keep Elliana happy. Surprisingly, Elliana enjoyed the flash and was quite mesmerized by it. If it seemed she was about to start crying, I popped off the flash and it calmed her down.
Below (and above) is a selection of my favorite shots from the session. Enjoy!
